Strong March ridership compared to 2019.  

 

Some positive coverage- https://www.fox19.com/2021/04/06/streetcar-ridership-increasing-with-free-fares-expanded-hours/

April is off to a good start. If the streetcar has good ridership this Saturday, we might have more riders in 2021 than in 2019 for 29 of the 30 days in April. 

 

Wow, that's really impressive. Being up over 100% on any given day is an enormous change, let alone per hour of operation.

 

I'm quite excited to see what happens later this year (hopefully) when most people are vaccinated and some semblance of normal life has returned.

Here's how every streetcar system built after 2000 that's currently in operation has compared to it's previous year's ridership over the past sixth months-

 

 

Cincinnati is doing the best after a rough start (being shut down for six months didn't help). We're likely going to be in first place for March and April as well. 

I added color and it works way better

Here's my back of the envelope calculations of how much a few simple changes can decrease headways-

 

A quick check of the website for ridership and this past Saturday had the highest ridership day excluding Blink since September 2019. Excluding that one day, we have to go back to July 2018. This past Saturday's weather was not the best either. 

 

4,892 riders on Saturday. Ridership during the week has remained fairly consistent despite the weather not being as nice. I think as soon as workers start returning Downtown, ridership will be consistently high and perhaps finally sell the city administration on planning for an extension to UC after obstruction and tantrums from the current Mayor. 

https://www.cincinnati-oh.gov/streetcar/about-the-streetcar/ridership-and-reports/

 

Edited April 19, 20214 yr by stashua123

41 minutes ago, stashua123 said:

A quick check of the website for ridership and this past Saturday had the highest ridership day excluding Blink since September 2019. Excluding that one day, we have to go back to July 2018. This past Saturday's weather was not the best either. 

 

4,892 riders on Saturday. Ridership during the week has remained fairly consistent despite the weather not being as nice. I think as soon as workers start returning Downtown, ridership will be consistently high and perhaps finally sell the city administration on planning for an extension to UC after obstruction and tantrums from the current Mayor. 

https://www.cincinnati-oh.gov/streetcar/about-the-streetcar/ridership-and-reports/

 

Did the city ever update the traffic lights downtown to speed things up??

1 minute ago, 646empire said:

Did the city ever update the traffic lights downtown to speed things up??

I actually have not heard much about this, I know they changed some of the lights in 2019, but after that the news gets sparse. 

This is a few charts from that website that show ridership. What I find noteworthy is the fact that again a large amount of offices are not back to full in person work yet. If this is the trend now, we could see a lot of ridership as soon as the pandemic ends. The weekly ridership gains and relatively stable ridership around 900-1,000 per day during the week is notable because it shows the community is using it more as a commuter asset than it was before. It will be interesting to see how this changes during the summer and fall. 

Past month until 4/17/2021

 

 

3/2019 until now.

 

 

 

September 2016 to present.

^that was a data collection error. actual riderhsip was 

 

 

 

On 4/19/2021 at 7:18 PM, 646empire said:

Did the city ever update the traffic lights downtown to speed things up??

No

Average daily ridership in April 2021 is 1,325, up 10.3% compared to April of 2019 (no service in April 2020). 

Overall, ridership is trending in the right direction

I know the answer to this is a big fat "no" but with the Biden admin poised to throw money at transit, I wonder if any city council or mayoral candidates will push to extend the line up the hill to UC or an other expansion.

 

In my fantasy world, there would be a line planned from Union Terminal to the casino with the idea of it becoming a light rail line in the future.

12 minutes ago, JaceTheAce41 said:

I know the answer to this is a big fat "no" but with the Biden admin poised to throw money at transit, I wonder if any city council or mayoral candidates will push to extend the line up the hill to UC or an other expansion.

 

In my fantasy world, there would be a line planned from Union Terminal to the casino with the idea of it becoming a light rail line in the future.

I wouldn't be surprised if the answer is that several members or future candidates will push for it, but due to the ridiculous nature of transit fights in politics in Cincinnati, will remain quiet or "neutral" on the issue until after they're in office.

Have any candidates even talked much about the streetcar this year?

26 minutes ago, JaceTheAce41 said:

I know the answer to this is a big fat "no" but with the Biden admin poised to throw money at transit, I wonder if any city council or mayoral candidates will push to extend the line up the hill to UC or an other expansion.

 

In my fantasy world, there would be a line planned from Union Terminal to the casino with the idea of it becoming a light rail line in the future.

The logical extensions would be 

 

Tier 1

 

UC 

Newport 

 

Tier 2

 

Union Terminal 

Covington

 

Tier 3 

 

Walnut Hills

West End/Camp Washington

 

 

3 hours ago, GCrites80s said:

Have any candidates even talked much about the streetcar this year?

Derek Bauman is probably the only one

4 hours ago, thomasbw said:

The logical extensions would be 

 

Tier 1

 

UC 

Newport 

 

Tier 2

 

Union Terminal 

Covington

 

Tier 3 

 

Walnut Hills

West End/Camp Washington

 

 

 

When do we get the Northside extension? And will it come through Camp Washington or Uptown? The people need to know!

4 hours ago, JaceTheAce41 said:

I know the answer to this is a big fat "no" but with the Biden admin poised to throw money at transit, I wonder if any city council or mayoral candidates will push to extend the line up the hill to UC or an other expansion.

 

In my fantasy world, there would be a line planned from Union Terminal to the casino with the idea of it becoming a light rail line in the future.

What’s up with this Union Terminal Line idea? I’ve seen people on here mention it several times. In my opinion that option is the the least likely to be built and for good reason. The UC option or even an extension to Newport would be much better. Although Newport seems unlikely because they(Newport/KY) would have to pay for it, Cincy/OH is definitely not gonna help pay for a Newport extension. Also Cincy would probably charge Newport maintenance fees for the use of its cars along with Newport having to buy a couple more CAF cars to balance service needs.

My reasoning is that you have several major destinations along the line (Museum/Future Amtrak, West End Stadium and casino). This line could easily be used for light rail through downtown should that need arise. I don’t see the subway as ever being used.

4 hours ago, 646empire said:

What’s up with this Union Terminal Line idea?

I like it if - AND ONLY IF - it's connected to large scale transit-oriented development on the surface parking lots surrounding Union Terminal... otherwise, it seems like a low priority destination for transit. 

2 hours ago, JaceTheAce41 said:

destinations along the line (Museum/Future Amtrak, West End Stadium and casino)

I think that’s a bit of a stretch tho. I don’t think there is much of a demand if any for a East-West line connecting these points of interest. 

 

2 hours ago, jwulsin said:

I like it if - AND ONLY IF - it's connected to large scale transit-oriented development on the surface parking lots surrounding Union Terminal... otherwise, it seems like a low priority destination for transit. 

100% agree the only way this seems feasible will be if there if some huge destination development that happens around the union terminal grounds 

8 hours ago, 646empire said:

I think that’s a bit of a stretch tho. I don’t think there is much of a demand if any for a East-West line connecting these points of interest. 

 

100% agree the only way this seems feasible will be if there if some huge destination development that happens around the union terminal grounds 

You would need the restoration of useable rail service at Union Terminal and some TOD to make it work. 

16 hours ago, 646empire said:

Although Newport seems unlikely because they(Newport/KY) would have to pay for it, Cincy/OH is definitely not gonna help pay for a Newport extension. Also Cincy would probably charge Newport maintenance fees for the use of its cars along with Newport having to buy a couple more CAF cars to balance service needs.

 

Folks in charge in Newport are interested in it. They made sure it was included in the latest OKI long range plan.

A crosstown route with Union Terminal would be great to connect regional rail into downtown.

TOD would follow the line after it's built, assuming appropriate zoning is updated to match the line. The limiting factor is lack of Amtrak and regional rail service, not TOD.

The first and only priority should be getting up the hill. Once that is done Cincy can look at other lines. The NKY connections will need to be spearheaded from our side of the river, and personally I would love a ∩ shaped connection that connected Covington to Newport through the riverfront transit center or surface running on 2nd/3rd but that desire is already well documented here: https://cincinnatiideas.com/northern-kentucky-streetcar/

 

To me the question, as it has been for years at this point, is how to connect the current streetcar route up the hill; the original path up Vine, a tunnel or some other circuitous route like McMicken to Straight Street or Reading or Gilbert. 

46 minutes ago, DEPACincy said:

 

Folks in charge in Newport are interested in it. They made sure it was included in the latest OKI long range plan.

 

What's the vibe in Frankfort regarding this?

Ezzard Charles is not exactly ripe for development. Most of the land is either institutional uses (I marked in blue) like schools, stadiums, police headquarters, etc or they are existing housing (marked red), and often permanent supportive housing. The only areas I see as possibly developed are in yellow on this map. And the parking lots around Union Terminal are really only developable if structured parking is built to provide parking for the new construction and existing demand for UT. And the area close to the stadium and music hall where WVXU and CET are today is already a desirable parcel. A regular bus from UT east to Central Parkway, and then ending at the casino and turning around seems like the best option. People who want to get on the streetcar could get off at Central Parkway and Walnut, or at Washington Park by getting off at Ezzard Charles and Central Parkway.

 

I just don't see a reason to build rail to UT unless it's part of a massive network like Metro Moves.

 

 

14 minutes ago, ryanlammi said:

I just don't see a reason to build rail to UT unless it's part of a massive network like Metro Moves.

Agreed, especially because the Riverfront Transit center is below downtown, attached to the streetcar and a huge parking garage and is really designed to the terminus of a commuter train line. I love Union Terminal as a building, but it's not the most logical place for a train station anymore ever since I-75 and Queensgate blew up that side of town. 

If intercity rail comes to Cincinnati in any significant capacity, I think Union Terminal can still serve us well. But I just don't know that rail is the best way to connect it. I don't think we need to build a new downtown intercity train station, because that would be a mess to build. There just isn't really the space for it. But a regular free bus connecting UT to downtown would be great and solve that problem of connectivity.

1 hour ago, DEPACincy said:

 

Folks in charge in Newport are interested in it. They made sure it was included in the latest OKI long range plan.

I would love to see it happen, I wonder how the folks in Louisville and Lexington will feel about NKY getting some rail before them lol

Move this if it's in the wrong thread.

I've mocked up a thought for streetcar/future light rail from CUT. I agree that the uphill extension to UC is priority 1 but if Amtrak will be serving CUT, it would be nice to have a rail connection. 

Currently there are two/three tracks serving CUT. My plan calls for an improved passenger concourse serving light rail, commuter rail and Amtrak. The yellow line could start as a streetcar line and be improved to light rail into the west side of town. The red line would be a commuter line to the northern suburbs and continuing south to the Riverfront Transit Center. Amtrak would also share some of the commuter concourse. 

 

 

First time none of the mayoral candidates want to remove the streetcar. 

 

All of them seemed supportive of at least initiating another study on the Uptown Connector. Gavi wants us to build it ASAP if the infastructure plan passes. 

https://www.bizjournals.com/cincinnati/news/2021/04/26/mayoral-candidates-streetcar.html

Moved Downtown in February and use the streetcar/Metro a lot. Overall, things seem improved from year's past. However, there are still some glaring issues that seem easy enough to fix. Transit app is much more accurate now, but not always 100% reliable (in a twist from years past, I now have way more issues finding real-time bus info with this app than I ever do streetcar). Arrival signs on stations are still hit/miss as to whether they're working or accurate. Nick Lachey recordings are still often mis-timed or reading sponsors that long ago dropped out. Frequency seems good, but I wonder how much of that is due to less cars on the street as WFH continues for many.

 

Every weekend, I encounter folks still using the system for the first time as they explore around town. They always seem impressed.

 

Thank the transit gods that those awful TVMs are turned off. 

33 minutes ago, Gordon Bombay said:

Moved Downtown in February and use the streetcar/Metro a lot. Overall, things seem improved from year's past. However, there are still some glaring issues that seem easy enough to fix. Transit app is much more accurate now, but not always 100% reliable (in a twist from years past, I now have way more issues finding real-time bus info with this app than I ever do streetcar). Arrival signs on stations are still hit/miss as to whether they're working or accurate. Nick Lachey recordings are still often mis-timed or reading sponsors that long ago dropped out. Frequency seems good, but I wonder how much of that is due to less cars on the street as WFH continues for many.

 

Every weekend, I encounter folks still using the system for the first time as they explore around town. They always seem impressed.

 

Thank the transit gods that those awful TVMs are turned off. 

The real-time tracking of the Transit app gives free fares a run for its money (..) in terms of biggest improvement to the system over the last 12-18 months. I wouldn't be a daily rider with out it. 

Agreed, @Pdrome513! So glad it works far more consistently. 

On 4/23/2021 at 10:19 AM, GCrites80s said:

 

What's the vibe in Frankfort regarding this?

 

I don't know but most of the funding would be federal anyway so I don't think it really matters much.

That didn't keep the 3-member Ohio Transportation Board or whatever it's called under influence from Kasich from c---blocking the 3C line.

Transportation Review Advisory Council. It had no say in 3C. It did redirect money from the Cincy Streetcar Uptown extension, however. 

That's it.

We're back above pre-pandemic ridership numbers. 

 

 

Here's how we got there

Update- the @TampaStreetcar narrowly edged out the @CB_Connector  connector to be the first 'new' streetcar system (opened after 2000) to exceed pre-pandemic ridership levels. Tampa also shows how switching to a zero-fare model can boost ridership

 

 

Kinda weird how the City of Cincinnati updated streetcar ridership every day until ridership exceeded pre-pandemic levels in April, then just stopped updating ridership completely 

 

On pace to exceed May 2019 ridership as well

 

I was out and about downtown on Saturday and Sunday. There must've been a big event on Saturday in 2019 because it seemed like the streetcar was packed to the gills this weekend. Every one I saw was full of people. 

Yeah I was also downtown on Saturday and the streetcar was fairly busy. 

21 hours ago, DEPACincy said:

I was out and about downtown on Saturday and Sunday. There must've been a big event on Saturday in 2019 because it seemed like the streetcar was packed to the gills this weekend. Every one I saw was full of people. 

Reds vs. Dodger series